Petit Navire
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 11 sources
French canned tuna, sardine and mackerel brand owned by Thai Union.
Petit Navire can't show that the workers who make its products in Ghana earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
Also worth knowing
It has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and China, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, partly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From product labels; Petit Navire doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ghana | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Portugal | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Petit Navire is run from Douarnenez, Brittany, by Thai Union's French arm. Retail listings show its tuna made in Ghana and the Seychelles from Atlantic and Indian Ocean catches, and its mackerel in Portugal; Thai Union's Pioneer Food Cannery in Tema, Ghana, lists Petit Navire among the brands it packs. Thai Union says all its tuna is traced to a vessel or group of vessels and 99% of volume is covered by fisher welfare, vessel code or improvement programmes (group evidence), but it publishes no vessel list or share of crews independently audited. About 30 products carried MSC or ASC labels in 2017, and much of its tuna comes from fisheries still in MSC improvement projects.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | The Resource Centre carries the 2015 AP investigation linking Thai Union to shrimp peeled by forced labour in Thailand, and Thai Union's response. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 11
Show all 11 sources
- AP: Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2015) · search the archive · AP found forced labour in Thai shrimp-peeling sheds linked to Thai Union's supply chains; Thai Union to bring peeling in-house and offer jobs
- Pioneer Foods Cannery Ltd, a Thai Union Group company (Ghana Free Zones Authority) · search the archive · Thai Union's Tema cannery processes and cans tuna for brands including Petit Navire and John West; over 1,000 Ghanaian staff
- Petit Navire thon albacore entier au naturel (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Seychelles; Atlantic and Indian Ocean fishing zones; fishery in MSC improvement programme; operator Ets Paul Paulet, Douarnenez
- Petit Navire morceaux de thon au naturel (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Seychelles; not MSC certified
- Petit Navire thon entier au naturel (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Ghana; fishery in MSC improvement programme
- Petit Navire thon albacore entier au naturel, 2 (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Ghana
- Petit Navire filets de maquereaux à la moutarde à l'ancienne (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Portugal
- Petit Navire filets de maquereaux blanc à la sauce tomate (Auchan) · search the archive · Country of manufacture Portugal; North-east Atlantic catch
- À l'attaque, Petit Navire mise sur le poisson MSC (Réussir, 2017) · search the archive · Over 30 Petit Navire products with MSC or ASC labels in 2017, 16% of expected revenue; Thai Union Europe tuna target of 100% MSC or FIP
- Réorganisation de Paul Paulet (Agra, 2010) · search the archive · Paul Paulet, historic producer of Petit Navire, has a 300-staff site in Douarnenez, France
Published by Petit Navire or its owner
- Thai Union marks 10 years of leadership in tuna sustainability (Thai Union, June 2026) · search the archive · 100% of tuna traceable to vessel or group of vessels; 99% of tuna volume covered by Fisher Work & Welfare, vessel code audits, improvement plans or equivalent
Company details
- Headquarters
- France
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Petit Navire ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/petit-navire, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Petit Navire.